Wednesday, February 20, 2013

A personal letter asks Chuck Schumer to reconsider support for Hagel

Chuck, you and I go back to our many long dinners and debates in the
college dining room in the late 1960s, when your sensible moderation
first became evident. A hallmark of your career since then has been
consistently to show good sense and courage on Middle Eastern issues.

As you noted with pride in an April 2010 interview, your family name "comes from the word shomer,
which means guardian" in Hebrew. You mentioned that your ancestors were
guardians of the Jewish ghetto in the Ukraine, adding: "I believe
HaShem [God], actually, gave me my name, as one of my roles that is very
important in the United States Senate is to be a shomer for Israel. I will continue to be that with every bone in my body."

You expressed having had "genuine concerns"
about Hagel prior to your White House meeting with him; now is the
moment for you to follow the dictates of your conscience. I hope you
will now come out against the Hagel nomination, a shift that will have
profound repercussions for the country and secure your reputation as a shomer for U.S.-Israel relations.

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About Me

I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com